Business

It seems crime does pay, but only if enough people partake in the illegal act. It is believed that an estimated 95 per cent of all copies of MS Office used in China come from an illegal source. In order to stabilize the piracy pandemic in China, ... Microsoft has slashed the price of their MS Office Suite to just $29. While the company would not admit to condoning acts of criminal behavior outright, this is exactly the message they are sending to the rest of the world. Some critics suggest that the reduced price is a reward for years of illegal activity. (Source: idg.no ) Price a Determining ... (view more)

A senior Microsoft figure recently made the statement that the success of Windows 7 could lead critics to change their minds about 'ol Vista. But a major newspaper is predicting Vista's unpopularity means the upgrade process to Windows 7 will be ... "frustrating, tedious and labor-intensive" for many. Steve Guggenheimer is Microsoft's vice president in charge of OEM, meaning he oversees the way the company's products are pre-installed by computer manufacturers. In an interview with ChannelWeb, he argued that once Windows 7 is released in October, people will realize that Vista had its strong ... (view more)

With its October release date steadily approaching, Microsoft announced today that it has released the code for its highly-anticipated operating system Windows 7 to PC manufacturers. It means the company is pacing itself well for the fall release. ... Just a day after Microsoft created a stir with news of a Windows 7 Family Pack , whereby the OS can be installed on up to three computers, the company has kept the hype up with today's announcement that PC makers, including industry heavyweights Hewlett-Packard, Acer, and Dell, will now be loading Win7 on new computers. (Source: arstechnica.com ) ... (view more)

Microsoft has expressed interest in further developing two-dimensional barcodes as part of their future corporate outlook. Two-dimensional barcodes are also called QR (quick response) codes and work like the ones found on product packaging. However, ... two-dimensional barcodes have the ability to store more data, including website information and email addresses. Scan with Your Cellphone Camera The whole process of using 2D barcodes is quite futuristic. People scan the barcode using their cellphone camera, which activates the phone's browser and directs them to a designated website linked to ... (view more)

Worried about having to install Windows 7 on more than one computer? Sometimes copy protected programs can be awfully expensive, but thankfully Microsoft has announced its plans for a Windows 7 Family Pack, which can be installed on up to three PCs. ... Microsoft revealed the new Win7 option late Tuesday afternoon, and the announcement has been generating plenty of buzz ever since. Unfortunately, prices for the Family Pack remain just speculation. What we do know is that the Family Pack will consists of the Windows 7 Home Premium version. (Source: cnet.com ) Family Pack Tops Consumer Wish List ... (view more)

Some senior Microsoft search bosses have reportedly flown to California for face-to-face talks with Yahoo management over a search merge. The two sides are said to be at their closest point to a deal to date. According to a report by the All Things ... Digital site, the two sides are being even more secretive than usual. However, it quotes a source as saying "It is down to the short strokes, for sure; it is just a question if we can finally close this." (Source: allthingsd.com ) Naturally, the finer points of any potential deal are under wraps at the moment. However, some general principles have ... (view more)

It appears as if Windows 7 will not need to reach its designated release date to make a big splash in Europe. According to several sources, Microsoft's European online store crashed within hours of offering discounted pre-order copies of the new ... operating system. The sale officially encompassed the major markets in the United Kingdom (UK), France and Germany, where both Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional editions were being sold at very reasonable discount prices. Win7: More than Half-Off the List Price Windows 7E Home Premium is now selling for 49.99 GBP (Great Britain Pound) ... (view more)

A senior Microsoft executive says it will build some of its forthcoming retail stores near those of rival Apple. He also says Apple complained about the recent "Laptop Hunters" campaign, which he feels validates the ads' success. Microsoft announced ... plans to open retail stores back in February, hiring former Wal-Mart executive David Porter to oversee the project. At the time it appeared the firm wanted to take advantage of cheap retail unit rentals thanks to the recession. However, Microsoft's decision to build these stores, and to build them near rival Apple's outlets, might be ... (view more)

Apple has formally applied to launch the iPhone in China. The move, earlier than expected, appears to have been made possible once the firm agreed to drop WiFi capability. There are both political and technical reasons for WiFi issues in China. ... Until April this year, the government refused to allow any WiFi handsets. Officially that was because of fears users would add Internet phone services such as Skype and use those to make calls, to the detriment of China's phone companies. Unofficially it was thought the government believed WiFi would make it harder to monitor communications. Censorship ... (view more)

Microsoft has made available a patch that promises fixes for nine vulnerabilities, three marked "critical" and another three deemed "important." Most Windows users will be glad to hear that a solution for the much-feared ActiveX DirectShow flaw has ... also been made available. Last week Microsoft made big news in a bad way for its ActiveX security flaw, which threatened to sicken user computers via infected web pages and "drive by" or "browse and get owned" attack codes within legitimate web pages. Much criticism lodged against Microsoft for the company's alleged knowledge of ... (view more)